The present invention relates to optical disk reproducing apparatus for reproducing any one of a plurality of optical disks held on a rotary table.
Carousel-type optical disk reproducing apparatus have been known where a rotary table (known as a carousel disk changer) for holding a plurality of optical disks thereon is rotatably mounted on a tray movable (loadable and ejectable) into and from a body of the apparatus, so that the optical disk to be reproduced can be changed by rotating the rotary table.
In reproduction by such a carousel-type optical disk reproducing apparatus, a desired one of the optical disks held in respective depressed portions of the rotary table is clamped by a disk catcher mechanism that includes a disk damper and turntable. Specifically, the desired optical disk is clamped by the turntable first fitting into the central hole of the optical disk from below the disk and then ascending, together with the optical disk, up to a position where the upper surface of the optical disk is pressed by the turntable against the disk damper so that the disk can be rotated for reproduction by the reproducing apparatus.
However, even after the optical disk, having been reproduced in the above-mentioned manner, is released from the clamping force by the disk catcher mechanism, the reproduced optical disk would sometimes be left adhering to the disk damper due to a sticky substance pushed out from a label-attached surface (i.e., upper surface) of the disk or a sticky substance present on the lower surface of the disk clamper. If reproduction of another one of the optical disks on the rotary table is instructed with the reproduced optical disk undesirably left adhering to the disk clamper, then the rotary table is rotated without the reproduced optical disk being brought back to and received in the corresponding depressed portion of the rotary table, which would therefore become a cause of a significant breakdown or failure of the optical disk reproducing apparatus.